Desperate state of Bulgaria reflects poorly on EU principles

The rule-of-law crisis that has convulsed the European Union in recent years has mainly focused on “democratic back-sliding” in Hungary and Poland ,as ruling parties in those states have sought to rig elections, strangle pluralist institutions and silence independent media. But the alarming pattern of abuse of power in Europe is not confined to Budapest and Warsaw. In Bulgaria this summer a full-scale political crisis has unfolded in tandem with an alarming uptick in Covid-19 infections. Bulgarians have been out on the streets in large numbers for four weeks protesting the government led by prime minister Boiko Borissov, leader of the centre-right GERB party, whom they suggest heads an...